NEW YORK (WCBS 880) -- Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Friday 21 nominations for the State and National Registers of Historic Places — including four spots in New York City and two on Long Island.
“By including them in the historic registers, it ensures resources are available to maintain these meaningful reminders of the past. New York is a global spot for tourism, and bringing awareness to these 21 places will help draw even more visitors for years to come,” said Hochul.
Among the nominees is the John James Audubon Houses in Manhattan. The 20-story houses were built in 1962 by NYCHA, and remain in use now as affordable housing in Harlem.
“The project represented early use by New York City planners of the so-called ‘vest pocket,’ or scattered site housing development, concept, which called for smaller-scale development on vacant properties and minimal demolition of existing housing, rather than construction of large, multi-tower projects,” said state officials.
Also nominated from Manhattan is the Lillian Wald Residence, located at 265 and 267 Henry Street, the home and workplace of the progressive reformer and public health nurse from 1895-1933.
Wald founded the Henry Street Settlement, which still provides social services and health care programs from the site now. She founded public health nursing, started the city school lunch program, established the first special needs classrooms and placed the first school nurse in a public school.
Also on her impressive list of accomplishments, she advocated for women’s suffrage, labor protections, child labor laws and immigrants rights.
“Wald was also a member of the first generation of ‘New Women,’ educated, independent middle-class women who rejected traditional gender roles in order to work professionally,” said state officials.
The third and final Manhattan nomination comes via the Mary McLeod Bethune Houses.
The public housing project opened in 1967, and state officials said it’s an early example of a federally funded senior citizens high-rise. It was one of the city’s first senior housing high-rises not associated with an existing campus-style development.
Also nominated in the city is Queens’ Ridgewood Fresh Pond Road/Myrtle Avenue Historic District.
The district includes more than 400 primarily commercial buildings, and holds significance for its “cohesive” architecture that reflects its rapid development.
Officials said the neighborhood dates back to the turn of the 20th century, and its growth due to an extension of an elevated rail line that connected it to Manhattan and Brooklyn.
On Long Island, Hochul announced the nomination of Suffolk County’s Elaine de Kooning House and Studio and Nassau’s John Jackson II House.
Elaine de Kooning was a prominent abstract artist, and spent her late career in the 1970s and 1980s in this East Hampton home, where she experimented with new themes, while being influential to the local art community.
The John Jackson II House dates back to the early 1700s, and was built in Hempstead by a grandson of the town’s founder, Robert Jackson.
“As abolitionist Quakers, the Jackson family helped establish a nearby community for free people of color. The family expanded the house in the Greek Revival style and retained ownership until 1899,” said state officials.
Officials said thee are over 120,000 historic properties through New York on the national register, either on their own or as part of historic districts. Listing on the registers can make owners eligible for public preservation programs and services like matching state grants and federal tax credits.
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